Wireless beacons, such as Bluetooth low energy beacons, are inexpensive devices that a merchant can install in a merchant location. Wireless beacons may communicate advertising (“ADV”) packets to user computing devices, such as smartphones and tablets that are within signal range. Wireless beacons may be placed in a merchant system near or within a point of sale (“POS”) terminal. Establishing a network connection with a wireless beacon may indicate to a user computing device that it is near the merchant POS terminal. A user computing device may be configured to allow a transaction resulting in the transfer of user financial account information when it is near a POS terminal.
In certain situations, network connections between wireless beacons and user computing devices should be secure. For example, a third party may move a wireless beacon so that the user computing device allows a transaction, determining that it is near the POS terminal when it actually is not. In another example, moving a wireless beacon may compromise the security of a door lock application. Additionally, user financial account information may be compromised by a third party moving a wireless beacon and replacing it with a third party device, which intercepts and retransmits communications between the wireless beacon and the user computing device.
Conventional technologies do not determine the security of a network connection between a merchant beacon device and a user computing device.